‘Justice' campaign crusades for jailed Joe Lopez

Judy R. Lopez grows more restless each day her brother-in-law, Joe, sits in jail.

He was denied a fair trial, she lobbied, and is asking his large and extended family to rattle the bars of the Huntsville jail where he was sentenced to serve 32 years.

The charges are serious and prosecutors promised to make them stick. The prisoner was convicted in October 2006 on two counts or aggravated sexual assault of a child and one count of indecency with a child, a teenage relative. A concurrent sentence on the two charges guaranteed 20 years for the man who once drew crowds to their feet with a single quiver of a note and swivel of his hips.

With Judy leading the crusade, a Texas-sized family of Joe Lopez fans stand behind the Tejano singer, nearly two years since the cell door slammed behind him.

"We are with him (sitting) in there too," Judy said.

A hearing before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for the former Grupo Mazz frontman could take months, even years. According to court records, there has been no recent activity regarding Lopez's case.

Meanwhile, Judy's efforts continue with the "Justice 4 Joe Lopez" campaign and Web site, justice4joelopez.org, which is pushing nearly 400 signatures on a petition proclaiming his innocence.

"This organization will help fight for justice for Joe and for many other innocent people who sit behind bars today on crimes which they did not commit," Judy's letter to U.S. congressmen reads.

She plans to send similar letters to state senators and representatives, outlining grievances and "injustices" she claims are documented in court transcripts.

Judy claims she observed jurors watching television news, which is prohibited during trial. She also complains that a male juror said he believed Lopez was guilty before deliberations began.

Another complaint involved jury selection, during which, Judy says, one juror declared she would not consider probation and was selected anyway. In her review of court transcripts, she found Lopez was not present at a meeting between the judge and attorneys in the case, which she asserts is against the law.

The claims have not been substantiated and a judge refused a motion for a mistrial, despite the family's pleas.

Outside the courtroom, Judy's campaign has won the unlikely allegiance of Jesse Camarillo, publisher of Scream Magazine, which keeps tabs on convicted sex offenders and publishes their photographs to alert neighborhood residents when a registered offender moves in.

It was a "160-degree turnaround" Camarillo said of his decision to feature a conversation he had with Lopez right before his trial in 2006.

Camarillo said he has also done extensive research on the Lopez trial proceedings and, "I believe him," he said. "He tells me he's innocent and I believe him."

During his trial, Joe Lopez maintained his innocence but has not granted an interview since his sentencing.

"He wants to talk to you," his brother Lorenzo told The Brownsville Herald when the paper requested an interview with the singer at the Goree Unit in Huntsville, where he is being held.

But Lopez declined on the advice of his attorneys, Lorenzo explained.

Messages from loyal fans speak for the silenced star.

"I have known Joe since childhood and know that while Joe might be capable of many things, he is not capable or would ever have the need to rape anyone," Mera Champion wrote in a Web site posting.

"I was his catechism teacher," Champion, a Brownsville resident, said on Friday. "I knew both him and Jimmy when they were young."

"Joe has been falsely accused of this crime. I believe he is innocent and a new trial will reveal injustice," Jaime Requenez added.

Joe Lopez's popularity continues in the music industry that embraces his talent.

His last album, "Joe Lopez, Jimmy Gonzalez y Grupo Mazz: The Last Dance Mazz Live Reunion," was released in February 2007 to high sales. The song "A Las Escondidas" won Best Regional Mexican song at the 2007 Latin Grammy awards. It was also nominated for song of the year at the 2008 Tejano Music Awards.

Jimmy Gonzalez, a lifelong friend that had broken from Lopez years before they collaborated on the "Reunion" album, accepted the awards on the group's behalf.

lmartinez@brownsvilleherald.com